Celsus, being of opinion that there is to be found among
many nations a general relationship of doctrine, enumerates all the
nations which gave rise to such and such opinions; but for some reason,
unknown to me, he casts a slight upon the Jews, not including them
amongst the others, as having either laboured along with them, and
arrived at the same conclusions, or as having entertained similar
opinions on many subjects. It is proper, therefore, to ask him
why he gives credence to the histories of Barbarians and Greeks
respecting the antiquity of those nations of whom he speaks, but stamps
the histories of this nation alone as false. For if the
respective writers related the events which are found in these works in
the spirit of truth, why should we distrust the prophets of the Jews
alone? And if Moses and the prophets have recorded many things in
their history from a desire to favour their own system, why should we
not say the same of the historians of other countries? Or, when
the Egyptians or their histories speak evil of the Jews, are they to be
believed on that point; but the Jews, when saying the same things of
the Egyptians, and declaring that they had suffered great injustice at
their hands, and that on this account they had been punished by God,
are to be charged with falsehood? And this applies not to the
Egyptians alone, but to others; for we shall find that there was a
connection between the Assyrians and the Jews, and that this is
recorded in the ancient histories of the Assyrians. And so also
the Jewish historians (I avoid using the word “prophets,”
that I may not appear to prejudge the case) have related that the
Assyrians were enemies of the Jews. Observe at once, then, the
arbitrary procedure of this individual, who believes the histories of
these nations on the ground of their being learned, and condemns others
as being wholly ignorant. For listen to the statement of
Celsus: “There is,” he says, “an authoritative
account from the very beginning, respecting which there is a constant
agreement among all the most learned nations, and cities, and
men.” And yet he will not call the Jews a learned nation in
the same way in which he does the Egyptians, and Assyrians, and
Indians, and Persians, and Odrysians, and Samothracians, and
Eleusinians.